News article
8th in the UK: latest rankings recognise Sussex’s progress in becoming one of the most sustainable universities
The University of Sussex has been recognised as the 8th most sustainable university in the UK in the QS World University Rankings 2025 [published at 21.00 BST on 4 June].
With a score of 97.7 out of 100, Sussex was ranked 8th in the UK out of 91 institutions, and 26th globally out of 1,503 universities for sustainability. The category criteria recognises evidence of a university’s commitment to a more sustainable existence, evaluating the social and environmental impact of education and research.
In the QS World University Rankings 2025, the University of Sussex also performed well for:
- Employment outcomes, ranking 16th in the UK. This reflects the ability of institutions to ensure a high level of employability for their graduates, while also nurturing future leaders who go on to make an impact in their respective fields.
- Citations per Faculty, ranking 14th in the UK. This measures the volume of research being carried out at an institute and is an estimate of the impact and quality of the scientific work produced.
- International Faculty, ranking 9th in the UK. This ranks the proportion of faculty members who are international, and measures how internationally attractive the university is to academic staff.
Professor Sasha Roseneil, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Sussex, said:
“At Sussex we are aiming to be one of the most environmentally sustainable universities in the world and our performance this year demonstrates the progress we are making towards this goal. We are also delighted to see how highly cited our research is, and to be recognised for our employment outcomes.”
The University’s overall global ranking in the QS World University Rankings 2025 was joint 246th. The university has set out clear ambitions to raise its position across University rankings and league tables, and has recently established a new Academic Performance Improvement Board to examine contributing factors to league table performance to drive change.
The 2025 rankings come just months after the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, in which Sussex had 10 subjects listed within the UK top 20, with Development Studies ranked first in the world for the eight consecutive year. The University also ranked highly for its citations per subject, ranked first in the UK for citations in both History and Physics and Astronomy, third in the UK for citations in Environmental Sciences and fifth in the UK for citations in both Anthropology and Development Studies.